The Convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare on Sunday said for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the 2019 elections, they would need to demonstrate to the electorate that they were a regenerated party and “show repentance for the years of the locust they engineered.”
Bakare, Senior Pastor, Latter Rain Assembly who spoke to newsmen after making a speech on Nigeria’s 58th Independence in his church located in Ikeja area of the state added that the opposition party had to convince Nigerians that they would not return to the path of corruption, which he said was the way of life during its rule, to win the confidence of the electorate.
The clergyman congratulated Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on his emergence as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate.
According to him, Atiku’s victory would make the 2019 election keen and interesting, adding that his emergence was a welcome development as it meant that the battle for the presidency would be a tough contest between him and President Muhammadu Buhari.
Bakare pointed out that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Abubakar were equal match, adding that Nigerians would decide between the two.
He said, “I congratulate him (Abubakar), he makes the issue in 2019 more robust. It is not going to be an Eaglet versus an eagle but an eagle versus eagle: an old eagle versus new eagle and probably both of them old eagles.
“I wish President Muhammadu Buhari the best in 2019. He has the power of incumbency and he will do his best to win the election, but Atiku is not going to take No for an answer when the two forces collide in the election,” he said.
Bakare said Abubakar, just like Buhari, had the experience, the exposure and the acceptance expected of the country’s president.
He noted that having those qualities alone would not translate into the victory for him, as the electorate would decide the parameters on which to elect the next president.
“I can’t say Atiku will win or lose. You see, I am not advocating for him. Among all the aspirants who contested the PDP’s ticket with him, he is perhaps the most cosmopolitan, he is a Wazobia man.
“He was Vice-President for eight years, and he inherited something from late Yaradua that he had held on to so effectively. He has been a businessman with a business acumen and he has the exposure.
“But you see, that is not what qualifies you to win. A lot comes into play, so again, I cannot say whether he will win or lose,” he said.
Bakare said though the present government was trying its best, there was the need for them to do much more to win the next election, saying the country was facing a lot of challenges which the government needed to offer solutions to, in order to fast track pace of development.
He said his comments about the Buhari’s administration from the outset should not be interpreted to mean he was attacking the government, but he was just raising issues needing attention.
“I didn’t take any swipe at the administration of President Buhari. What I have always said is that despite the acclaimed progress in the country, Nigerians are not feeling the impact in their homes.
“That does not mean the government is not working. Look at the groaning of the people, the government still has to do a lot more before the 2019 elections. They have to work harder to assure Nigerians that they are really up to the task of listening to their yearnings and aspirations.
“The purpose of government is the welfare and security of people. Take that from the equation, then governance means nothing,” he said.
, Pastor Tunde Bakare on Sunday said for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to win the 2019 elections, they would){kind=link}